host: cumberland, maryland. james. there was a paper released in april from the cdc talking about a some thematic patients,r. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6210, the uighur forced labor prevention act as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6210, a bill ensuring that goods made with forced labor in the eager autonomous region of the people's republic of china do not enter the united states market, and for other purposes. search pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. castro, and the gentleman from texas, mr. mccaul, will each control 30 minutes. 20 minutes, excuse me. the chair recognizes the

gentleman from texas, mr. castro. mr. castro: madam chair, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and tend their remarks the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. castro: i yammings. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman virginia tech. mr. castro: i rise in support of the uighur forced labor prevention act. the human rights atrocities, the chinese government is perpetuating are now well-known. more than a million uighurs and muslims, ethnic north have been thrown into detention camps where they face torture, brainwashing, sexual abuse, and even forced sterilization. these atrocities are horrific, and the congress has acted to hold perpetrators of these crimes accountable by passing the uighur human rights policy act. we must not stop there. the legislation we are considering today focuses on a specific form of abuse.

forced labor, an abuse of human rights, which also has grave implications for supply chains and consumers worldwide. importing goods made from the force -- forced labor violates u.s. law and americans certainly would not want to contribute to the p.r.c. government's human rights abuses by unwittingly purchasing apparel or hair products made by detained uighurs. among other things, the legislation reaffirms u.s. policy to reduce the number and types of goods made from forced labor, mandates reports surprounding the u.s. government strategy to spread awareness of forced labor and address that challenge and requires the secretary of state to determine whether the practice of forced labor constitutes crimes against humanity or even genocide. this measure builds on what congress has already done to hold the chinese government accountable and to 12:15.

12:15. mr. castro: beijing and its cri i urge my colleagues to join me in support of the bill. this is a good measure. and i'm pleased to support it. i'm also pleased that it has, i believe, bipartisan support. i reserve the balance of my ime. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mccaul: madam speaker, i want to start this debate with a simple truth that we cannot afford to forget. the truly free trade cannot involve slave labor. tood chinese communist party is using the forced labor of the uighurs and other minorities to help bank roll its cultural

genocide against those very same groups. the regression taking place right now is breathtaking in its scope and in its brutality. it million to three million people in concentration camps. madam speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. mr. mccaul: involves the detention of one to three million people in concentration camps it involves surveillance and attempted brainwashing on a massive scale. it involves breaking up families and taking children from their parents. it involves forced sterilization . madam speaker, forced abortions. this should be a terrifying warning to the world, to china's neighbors, and to the american

people that the chinese communist party is fundamentally focused on expanding its power, its control, and its authoritarian style of government. it views things that it does not control like religion, cultural identity, and the yearning for all people for freedom as threats that must be destroyed. and because we have drawn the c.c.p. into our most essential supply chains it can hold our national security hostage while it uses u.s. consumers to subsidize its atrocities. as many as one in five cotton garments globally could be tainted with uighur slave labor. in july u.s. customs and border protection seized a 13-ton shipment of human hair. madam speaker, human hair that originated in the forced labor system. we haven't heard about human

hair since the nazis in the concentration camps of the war that my father fought in, world war ii. it's brazen and sickening. we must refuse to be complicit financially or otherwise. and the c.c.p.'s crimes against the uighurs, the muslim uighurs, for that reason i support this bill before us today. i must point out the abuses in this province are not only one small part of the grave and growing threat the chinese communist party poses to the interests, the values, and the security of the united states, that threat is global and has military, economic public health and philosophical aspects. i know that many on the other side of the aisle share my concerns. i, unfortunately, regret, that during this congress the

majority's not given the c.c.p. tenth of the time they put in their partisan efforts to bring down this president. we were told that the chinese task force was going to be bipartisan, madam speaker. at the last minute the majority ulled out. -f task was supposed to be bipartisan. this should be a bipartisan issue. it is an american issue against the greatest national security threat to the united states of america. i believe this failure perspective needs to change. our work on the china task force we have met with 125 people from

both sides of the aisle to gain better insight into how our relationship, our foreign policy as we speak here from the foreign affairs committee, how we need to treat the chinese communist party from a foreign policy standpoint. this again is an american issue not republican or democrat. this report coming out october 1 will include 400 recommendations , including 100 pieces of legislation that have bipartisan support like the bill before us today. so i strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation. and then once we get past this election, madam speaker, let us come together on both sides and analyze objectively our foreign policy with the chinese communist party and address the bipartisan bills that will be recommended by the task force to address the chinese communist

party's malign activities throughout the world. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. castro: thank you, madam speaker. i'd like to yield six minutes to the author of this bill important, the co-chair of the tom lantos human rights commission, the gentleman from massachusetts and chairman of the rules committee, mr. mcgovern. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for six minutes. mr. mcgovern: thank you very much. i want to thank my friend from texas for yielding, but also for his commitment to human rights, not only with regard to the repression that's going on in china but all around the world. madam speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 6210, the uighur forced labor prevention act. i am proud to have authored this legislation to address human rights and forced labor abuses against uighurs and other muslim groups in china. there is strong, diverse bipartisan and bicameral support for this legislation, including from my colleagues on the congressional executive commission on china.

senator marco rubio, representative chris smith, representative tom suozzi all helped draft this legislation. thank you, speaker, nancy pelosi, for your long-time advocacy for human rights in china and for your leadership in getting this bill to the house floor. and thank you, chairman engel, as well as ranking member mccaul, chairman neal, and chairwoman waters for the support of your committees. the congressional executive commission on china, which i serve as chair, held the first congressional hearing on this topic a year ago. followed it up with a groundbreaking staff report, and then held an expert round table event on the issue. we found that the evidence of systematic and widespread forced labor in xinjiang is astounding and irfuthable and includes evidence from camp detainees, satellite imagery of factories being built at internment camps, and public and leaked chinese government documents.

all of the evidence we accumulated led to the introduction of this bipartisan, bicameral legislation in paragraph, 2020. it is time for congress -- march, 2020. it is time for congress to act. over the past several years we have watched in horror as the chinese government first created and then expanded a system of extra judicial mass internment camps. as many as 1.8 million uighurs and members of other predominantly muslim ethnic minority groups have been arbitrarily detained in the camps and subjected to forced labor, torture, political intimidation, and other severe human rights abuses. we published during the past year detailed and expansive and systematic policy of forcibly separating ethnic minority children from their families. a chinese government policy document stated that nearly half a million school children were attending boarding schools. the forceable displacement of children is a violation of the

chinese government's law on the protection of minors and the u.n. convention on the rights of the child. investigations during the past year detailed the policy of forcibly separating ethnic minority children from their families, and the use of forced birth control and sterile days which -- sterilization which may be in contradiction of the u.n. convention on genocide which is a party. the u.s. holocaust memorial museum had already determined that crimes against humanity may have been committed. in july, i jointly led a bipartisan letter signed by over 75 members calling on the trump administration to make an official determination as to whether atrocity crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity are being committed. we have yet to hear back from the administration. it is time for congress to act. we know forced labor is widespread and systematic and exists both within and outside the mass internment camps.

these facts are confirmed by the testimony of former camp detainees against slight imagery and -- satellite i amagery and leaked documents from the chinese government. we know that many u.s. international and chinese companies are complicit in the exploitation of forced labor and specific products include textiles, electronics and food products. audits of supply chains are simply not possible because workers cannot speak freely and honestly about working conditions given heavy surveillance and intimidation. current u.s. law states it is illegal to import into the united states goods, wares, articles, merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by forced labor. unfortunately, products made with forced labor are still making their way into the global supply chains in our country. the trump administration has taken some action, including sending out a business advisory

and placing withhold release orders on some businesses and entities in china. but these piecemeal actions fall far short of addressing the regional, economic system that is built upon a foundation of forced labor and repression. further, we should all be disturbed by reports that president trump gave a green light to president xi by telling him building the camps was the right thing to do. ending forced labor was also not even discussed as parts of the phase one trade deal. it is time for congress to act. the uighur forced labor prevention act prohibits imports from xinjiang to the u.s. by creating a rebuttal presumption that all goods produced in the region are made with forced labor unless u.s. customs and border protection certifies by clear and convincing evidence that goods were not produced with forced labor. the legislation also authorizes targeted sanctions. requires financial disclosures

about involvement in the region and requires a state department determination about whether crimes against humanity or genocide is occurring. for more than two years u.s. and international companies have been aware of forced labor throughout the xinjiang region. it is long past time for these companies to reassess their supply chains and find alternatives that do not exploit labor and violate human rights. their failure to do so as led u.s. consumers to unwittingly purchase goods made with forced labor. that must end. effective enforcement would mean workers and farmers would no longer have to compete against forced labor from xinjiang. for too long the world has been silent while uighurs and other muslim groups suffered under severe repression. i believe the lack of any international response -- i believe the lack of international response for so long allowed the chinese government the space to impose this extreme system of repression, but now the world has woken up. today the u.s. house of

representatives is taking the strongest action yet. i'm proud to stand in solidarity with the uighur people and alt people living under the rule of the chinese government in their struggle to live freely, practice their religious beliefs freely, speak their own languages freely. i look forward to the passage of this legislation. continuing our bipartisan work together to support the rights -- human rights in china. thank you. i yield back. 7. he the speaker pro tempore: members are advised not to traffic the well. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: i would like to commend the the gentleman from massachusetts for his support for human rights across the world. you and the next speaker have een on this issue, visionary leaders, the two strongest in the house of representatives, representing both sides of the

aisle and thank you for that. i would like to recognize the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, ranking member of the human rights subcommittee. he has been working on these issues along with chairman mcgovern for decades. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: i thank mr. mccaul for his leadership and for his strong statement today. i would like to thank mr. mcgovern, the chairman of both the china commission as well as the lantoost commission and i serve with him as co-chair on the lantoost and ranking member on the china commission and the principal republican co-sponsor on this bill. we have been teaming up for years on this issue. and our chairman for his work. ,t a 2018 congressional hearing

one accounted her ordeal of torture, sexual abuse and detention at one of the massive internment camps. she pleaded with god to end her life. they restrained to her a table and increased the electrical curpts going through her body and mocked her pleff in god. he was tortured of being an ethnic uyghur in china. there are thousands of stories to be told like this. nightmareish accounts of his genocide. this is x's genocide. this includes the mass internment of millions. 1.8 million victims in concentration camps. children ripped from the warm embrace of their families and forced to renounce their religion, culture and language.

rape and sexual abuse of women eing held in internment camps, forced sterilization to prevent the birth of uyghur children. direct violation of article 2-d which states in part that abortion. including and companies profit big time. chinese authorities initially the existence of mass internment camps and tried to portray them as vocational training. the chinese communist party p employed the big lie to stifle any discussion of their crimes. however, documents obtained by the "new york times" and international consortium of international journalists have exposed the brutality behind the plan to radically transform the

culture and religion and other muslims in china. the papers showed detailed plans, this is back years ago now, between one and three llion uyghur go in these concentration camps. in other words, if you are a muslim, your thinking is infected. at the same time, beijing instituted plans to erase the influence of islam in all of western china, bulldozing mosques and shrines and forcing detainees in the camps to renounce their camps. xi documents show president ordered the crackdown and show absolutely no mercy in dealing with the uyghurs and other mississippi. he said, the weapons of the

people's democratic dictatorship ust be wielded without weambing. the documents showed he told police officers and troops standing at attention in a square to prepare for a smashing, obliterating offensive. secret teams and some of the cops didn't want to do it and ex punked them from their rankses. forced goods produced by labor find their way into the united states. cotton comes from the region and u.s. cost tomorrows has prohibited companies from importing textiles and hair products as my good friend from texas pointed out about the hair. the buying and selling of hair was at nazi concentration camps and happening today. the trump administration has met

with strong rhetoric condemning abuses and actions and punish authorities and corporations complicit in these human rights abuses. since last october, the commerce department has placed 40 chinese companies and government entities on its entity list restricting exports because of their come policity in human rights abuse. in july, the treasury department issued sanctions against six chinese officials. we want more. treasury has also sampingsed a construction corps, a paramilitary organization that reports directly to the c.c.p. and this summer, u.s. cost tomorrows and border protection banned eight other chinese ompanies from transporting textiles and hair products of the the act prohibits imports

from xinjiang to the u.s. by creating a rebuttable presumption and that is the core of this bill that goods are made with force labor unless u.s. cost tomorrows say that the goods were not made. the rebuttable presumption is the key. and carries other provisions and important ones. but that's the most important one. mr. mccaul: one additional minute. mr. smith: authorizes targeted sanctions on other person related to trafficking and protects consumers that require financial disclosures about their engagement with chinese companies. directs the secretary of state to determine whether forced labor or other crimes against uyghurs constitute crimes against humanity or genocide. one item after the other

articulated in that convention xi ing met by president horrible genocide against his own people. i urge support of the bill. 67 co-sponsors. republicans and democrats join saying we want this stopped. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. >> i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr. swawsy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. suozzi: thank you for your work on this. thank you chairman mcgovern as well. i rise in strong support of this bipartisan uyghur forced labor prevention act. we need to wake people up. it has been reported in the newspapers often but i don't think most americans realize what is going on in china. almost 50 years ago when nixon

went to china and we believed that the more they are exposed to our way of life, our democracy, economic system, the more they become like us. that hasn't happened. we had hearings at the china commission and hearing at ways and means and the witnesses testified not only about forced labor which is clear, but talked about crimes against humanity and talked about forced sterilization and talked about forcing people to eat pork. they talked about prohibiting people from practicing their faith, and hard to imagine in today's world that forced labor is happening and we know about it. we need to recognize that china has to be held accountable. we have rules in place now that say that you can't use forced labor but this bill is going a big step further saying that

everything that comes out of the xinjiang region will be primed to be forced labor. most of the cotton in the borled comes from china. 84% of cotton comes from the xinjiang region. we will have to support other countries. and get the northern triangle to produce cotton and try and address those issues where our friends are. but we need to hold china and the chinese communist party accountable of these very acts against our conscience. we have to do everything that we can do to stand up for our values. i ask my colleagues for their support. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from florida, mr. yoho. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. yoho: thank you, mr.

chairman. and leaders on the left are on the democratic side, the c.c.p. has targeted and rounded up over one million people of uyghurs and east turk minorities and put them in concentration camps where they were forced for rape and culture. the c.c.p. released a white paper. they admitted to incarcerating to 1.3 million uyghurs from 2014-2019. that is up to eight innocent million people and brain washed people which are concentration camps. the chinese state. if they will admit to that, how many more that have been intered. the chinese state is not only come policity but response i will for activity targeting

vulnerable populations based on everything from religious beliefs, their language, hairstyle and diet. this is not to mention forced sterilization and forced marriages. they have been forced into manufacturing jobs under harsh conditions which we have heard as has been pointed out, these products benefiting from forced labor found their ways into our major supply chains as it becomes increasingly difficult for companies to conduct due diligence and investigations in china. we must recognize that the chinese diplomatic presence will be engaged. force necessary to seek chinese uyghurs to mainland china often to renew their passports only to be abducted.

as members of congress we have a moral obligation that the cam paper of ethnic cleansing and forced labor reminiscent of the concentration camps of the nazi regime when we swore we should not allow this. the business community of america has a moral obligation from manufacturing to hollywood to not appease the china in the name of profits. as an original co-sponsor, i support its passage in the house and timely consideration in the senate. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. castro: i yield one minute to our speaker of the house, the gentlewoman from california, ms. pelosi. the speaker: i thank the gentleman from texas for yielding. mr. castro, thank you so much,

for bringing this important legislation to the floor and giving us a chance to honor our values in a most bipartisan way. one of the sadnesses of all of this is how many people are suffering. one of the joys is it has enabled us to work together, mr. smith, at least, on this subject. i rise in support of the uyghur forced labor protection act and disclosure act, two strong bipartisan bills to send a message to beijing and the world that the u.s. congress will not -- allow human rights to be sacrificed for commercial interests. as i have said many times, if america does not speak out for human rights in china because of commercial interests we lose all moral authority to speak out about human rights anywhere in the world. i salute chairman mcgovern and

chair of the tom lantoost human rights commission, leading voice in the country and in the congress for human rights. and i thank you. i thank jennifer wexton, one of our new freshmen for her early leadership and dedication she has brought to this priority. thank you, mr. smith. i acknowledged our working together over the years as you are the ranking member of the executive member commission on china and co-chair of the lantoost commission. salute mr. engel and senator rubio and senator merkley. i thank you for this opportunity. and so many of our members who have spoken on this issue. . . beijing's actions on the uighur people continue to be an outrage

to the collective conscience of the world. across the region, the uighur and other muslim majorities are brutally repressed. in this way. a pervasive state of mass surveillance and predictive policing used to discriminate against and violate the human rights of minorities. incidents of mass shootings, extra judicial killings, and intimidation and suppression of journalists. courageously exposing the truth. and the pass incarceration of more than, this is a lower figure, i think it's higher, but conservative figure, one million innocent people with beatings, solidarity confinement, depravation of food and medical treatment, and with extensively documented programs of forced labor. if you are out there watching the congress, know what this

means to you. the exploitation of people in china has a direct impact on our trade policy and on our values first and foremost. tragically the products of the forced labor often end up here in american stores and homes. in fact, roughly one in five cotton garments sold globally, one in five cotton garments sold globally contains cotton or yarn region. injiang we must sign a light on the human practice of forced labor, and stop this exploitation. and we must send a clear message to beijing. these abuses must end now. i remember years ago mr. smith when you and frank wolf vitted

forced labor, prisons, or whatever, in china at the time, your courage to go there was so overwhelming to the rest of us. you were able to document what we needed to know. unfortunately, the challenge to the conscience that you brought to us was not heeded by all here. we could have overwhelmingly in the house and senate, but not override a veto whether it was a democrat or republican in the white house. i remember how brave you were and how brave those prisoners were to show you the evidence of the forced labor so we could make the case to workers in america. you have been subjected to the exploitation of workers there. that's an exploitation of workers here. again we were proud and pass the

uighur human rights policy act which uncovers the truth of the abuses and urges the application of targeted sanctions against those involved in the oppression of the uighur people. today we build on that overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation with these two bills, which together will ensure that goods made in xinjiang region imported to the united states are not made with forced labor. are not made with forced labor. the congress must and will continue to speak out against beijing's other human rights abuses. for the decades long abuse faced by the tibetan people. chinese are there to crush their lture, eliminate their language, and suppress their religion. d their assault on the honor of his holiness, the dalai lama, by saying they were choose his successor goes beyond the pale.

it is a kohl check legislative to the conscience of the world. to hong kong fight for democracy and rule of law, which they oppress, and to the jailing of journalists, human rights lawyers, christians, and democracy advocates on the mainland. that is why the house is proud to have passed legislation including the hong kong human rights and democracy act, the hong kong autonomy act, and the tibet policy and support act which we urge the senate to take up immediately. all of this in an overwhelmingly bipartisan way. because we respect the dignity and worth of every person. but because we always said that we cannot look the other way when the suppression of millions of people is taking place. and we are acting upon those values and those beliefs that we have. in honor of the millions fighting for their dignity, safety, and rights in china and around the world, i urge a strong bipartisan vote for the

uighur forced labor protection act and the uighur forced labor disclosure act. thank you again, all of you, who have, mr. mccaul you as well, ranking member on the committee of jurisdiction, and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: mr. castro: thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: let me thank speaker pelosi. she actually came to our committee markup of this bill. it's very rare for a speaker of the house to show up to a committee markup. and yet this issue is so important to her that she honored us with her presence in that markup. this is where we come together in the congress. and i want to thank you for your upport, madam speaker. thank you, and mr. smith who has been dealing for decades with this. i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr.

jacobs. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. jacobs: thank you, madam speaker. i wanted to first acknowledge an individual from my district, dr. sean roberts, i grew up with sean roberts in buffalo, new york. sean is a professor now at washington university. he has studied the uighur people for over 30 years and recently released a book entitled the war on the uighur, chinese's international campaign against the muslim minority. it's a book that has a depth of research about the atrocities against this people for a long, lodge time. i want to commend him for his leadership. madam speaker, long before china endangered the global community with their lies and failure in response to the coronavirus, we knew of the threats they posed but many ignored them. we can no longer allow them a free pass. today we are here to condemn yet another of the communist --

china's communist regime's crimes. the atrocious record on human rights. specifically the persecution and forced labor of the uighur people. the actions of the chinese communist regime are appalling. a threat to freedom everywhere. and must be condemned in unwavering terms. it is our duty as the strongest beacon of freedom in the world to shine a light upon these atrocities. sanction those who condone it, and eradicate such evil. freedom is not based on just ideals you hold rather is based on your ability to hold those ideals without fear. i urge every member of my colleagues to support these measures and send a resolute and strong message to the chinese communist party that we will not tolerate their human rights violations. no more should they be able to act as a rogue nation, a bully, and manipulator that disregards

their own citizens' lives and puts the entire global community in danger. until china danges its ways, ends the torture of the uighur people, and acts as a responsible global citizen, we will not weaken our pressure. with one voice let's condemn the atrocities committed against the uighur people. then -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. million jacobs: 30 seconds. mr. mccaul: additional 30 seconds. mr. jacobs: then let's work towards any and foreign dependence on this regime and hold them accountable for the lives of every individual their lies have killed. i look forward to working with the senate to refine and improve this bill and endorse the strong measures it holds -- to hold the cheese regime accountable. thank you very much. -- the chinese regime accountable. thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. castro: thank you, madam speaker. it's my pleasure to yield two minutes to a valued member of the foreign affairs committee, the gentleman from rhode island, mr. cicilline. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from rhode island is

recognized. million cicilline: i'm proud to co-sponsor the uighur forced labor prevention act. legislation that bans importation of the products of forced labor by uighurs to the united states. i acknowledge and thank chairman mcgovern, chairman blumenauer, ranking member mccaul, mr. smith and others who have led this effort. as members of the foreign affairs committee, we work every day to ensure that america stands up for freedom around the world and we take action to promote freedom and human rights around the globe. so in that vein we must ensure the exploitation of the uighurs and other ethnic north does not continue. most americans would be shorked to learn for years uighurs have been interned, tortured, interrogated, and brutally forced into labor by the chinese government. and products they manufacture make their way into the u.s. market. this bill will stop these practices. we must pass this legislation to crack down on china's abhorrent human rights practice. we must continue to be a force for democratic values and human

rights in our own country and around the world. and this is an example of working together in a bipartisan way to make it clear that the united states of america will not remain silent while these gross human rights violations continue and will do all that we can to bring the attention of the world, the abhorrent practices of the chinese communist government by passing these two pieces of legislation. i thank you for yielding. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: i continue to reserve, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. castro: thank you, madam speaker. it's now my honor to yield two minutes to the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon yielded two minutes. thank you, i appreciate the gentleman's

courtesy in permitting me to speak. last week or subcommittee held a hearing on the chinese government's use of forced labor for the protection of all kinds of goods. through a concerted program of ppression for could he hersive assimilation of the uighur population. you heard the horrible details we had expressed in our committee. we have had a long history of grappling with depravity of forced labor and ensuring that goods produced under such conditions do not eventually make their way into our grocery stores and shopping malls across the country. we passed a law a century ago prohibiting the importation of those goods. but, unfortunately, the ban founded on principles of morality, human rights, worker rights, as well as principles and fair competition have to be charitable, a history of spotting implementation. we don't pretend that it's going to be easy to stop this. global supply chains now are

complex and interrelated. it is going to require the concerted efforts of us all. but we should not allow complex supply chain to justify the chains of oppression on the uighur populations now. i look forward to working with my colleagues in the aftermath of the passage of this legislation that we work to actually implement. we worked with the expresses -- expressions that have been positive from the private sector and n.g.o.'s and other partners to make sure it's real. it's going to require concerted effort. it's going to require some dislocation. we may even pay a dime or two more for a pair of socks or t-shirt. but i do think not being complicit with this horrific oppression of over a million, and i agree with mr. smith, it may well be more than that. it's time for us to make sure that we take a stand, make it real.

i deeply appreciate the sentiment on both sides of the aisle that we are committed to stop it now. in an era of, shall we say, a little conflict, this could be a bright spot for us going forward. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. mccaul: madam speaker, i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized to close. mr. mccaul: thank you, madam speaker. in recent years the world has stood by idly as the chinese communist party rounded up more than a million, probably a lot more than that, ethnic minorities in the concentration camps where they are tortured, brainwashed, and forced into labor. this is all part of a deliberate program by the c.c.p. to wipe out their ethnic identity, their religion, their culture, anything that might compete with the communist party for their loyalties and affection.

we have a moral duty today to speak out against these horrifying crimes, against humanity, and against the uighurs. and as the speaker mentioned, against the tibetans and christians as well. who are persecuted in the chinese communist regime. we have an even greater duty to avoid funding this genocide by paying for slave labor in xinjiang. . there can no longer be business as usual with china. i urge my colleagues to vote yes and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. castro: we have no more speakers and i would be glad to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. castro: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i will be submitting letters of

exchange between this committee and the committees of financial services, ways and means and judiciary who received referrals on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. castro: this is a matter of whether the united states as it has for generations will remain a north star around the world when it comes to things like freedom, human rights, democracy, rooting out corruption. this is an issue of human rights . millions of people who are treated right now by the chinese government. atrocities continue in xinjiang and china shows no signs of changing course including a white paper defending these quote, unquote, training centers. united states should use its position to advance workers' rights and signal to other

like-minded countries to act accordingly. i'm pleased to support this measure and i'm glad it has strong bipartisan support and i urge all the members to do the same. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6210 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- mr. castro: i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 3 of house resolution 965, yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8, rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: pursuant to my nomination to the house committee on ways and means i offer my resignation from both the house committee on judiciary and house committee on homeland security. thank you. signed sincerely representative richmond. the speaker pro tempore: the resignation is accepted.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. castro: i move the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2166, global health security act of 2019 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2166, a bill to

authorize a comprehensive strategic approach to developing countries to strengthen global health security and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. castro, and the gentleman from texas, mr. mccaul, each will control 20 minutes sm the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. castro. mr. castro: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and stepped their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 2166. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. castro: i yield myself such time as i may consume. pandemics don't respect borders and don't care about nationalities. we have witnessed it this year with the spread of the coronavirus. that's why this bill comes before us at a critical time and i want to say a very big thank you to representative connolly

nor authoring this legislation. we have watched this pandemic spread around the world disrupting our lives and creating grave uncertainty about what happens next. unfortunately, the administration's catastrophic response to the current covid-19 pandemic has led to nearly 200,000 american deaths. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: i yield myself such time as i may consume. madam speaker, as painful year has hammered home, viruses and pandemics no know borders. this reaffirms our commitment to promoting global health security as a core issue of national

security. connolly and ends chabot and thank you for bringing this bill forward. directs the president to establish an interagency review council that will support our executive branch agencies and ensure coordination between their efforts and requires a united states coordinator for global health security who will be response i will for coordinating the u.s. response to global health crises. as we continue to fight covid-19 and this pandemic, we must make sure our preparations to fight future threats to the health and security of americans are as efficient and effective as they can be. i want to thank the sponsors of the bill, mr. connolly and mr. chabot for their leadership in supporting and introducing this bill. and with that, i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. castro: i yield five minutes to the gentleman from virginia, mr. connolly. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. conyers: i thank my good -- >> i thank my good friends for their leadership and generosity to bring this bipartisan bill to the fly. i rise in support of the global health security act which reaffirms the united states' commitment. i introduced this bill in partnership with my colleague steve chabot of ohio two years ago before the pandemic when we saw leadership in strategy around u.s. planning for global health security emergencies. tragically, the global covid-19

pandemic has underscored not om the need for robust federal response to such a crisis, but also the importance of investing in global health security around the world because the virus and disease do not respect national borders. we are truly in this together. amid concerns about the response to covid-19, i welcome the fagget that the house foreign affairs came around a bipartisan solution that addresses deficiencies in the current response as well as to demonstrate a commitment to sustainable approach to global health security. one of the critical lessons learned during the u.s. response during the 2014 ebola outbreak in west africa, was the need for a permanent designated official responsible for coordinating the response to a global health

security in the ent of a pandemic or emergency. the primary recommendation of the ts inch s report on strengthening america's health security is to restore the health security leadership at the white house national security council by naming a senior official to anticipate to prevent and to respond to biology logical crises. despite bipartisan support, sadly, the administration eliminated the position responsible for just such a crisis two years ago. at a time when with decisive leadership is sorryly needed to combat the pandemic our global health security act would re-establish that government-wide lead for pandemic responses by creating a u.s. coordinator. this legislation also establishes an interagency review council, as mr. mccaul

indicated, charged with implementing u.s. commitments around a global security agenda. and the bill requires global health security strategy that helps other countries as well as our own to strengthen their health care systems in order to detect, prevent, mitigate outbreaks early. republican and democratic presidents have recognized the importance of global health security. president obama's role in launching to president trump's national security strategy. whether it's the current covid-19 pandemic or the next crisis, it's clear these threats are going to be ongoing and perhaps increasing. saving lives from the next global pandemic starts with investing in preparedness before it starts.

diseases don't respect borders and global health crises have humanitarian and economic consequences. the health global security act has a critical role of u.s. leadership and enshines u.s. policy in statute. i'm proud that this bill passed the house foreign affairs committee unanimously and was included in the house-passed heroes act and national defense authorization act. the global health security act is endorsed by the child fund health council, international medical corps, international, ohns hopkins, nuclear threat initiative, one campaign. and management of sciences for health, the safe vaccine and the american society of micro

biology, among others. i want to thank my colleagues, y friend steve chabot from ohio, brian fitzpatrick and ann wagner for serving as original co-sponsors on this bipartisan bill. i urge my colleagues to adopt it as a prudent measure in response to this pandemic. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: i want to reiterate mr. connolly both and mr. chabot for introducing this bill and the discussions as the gentleman stated took place two years ago well before the covid-19 pandemic. i yield five minutes to the gentleman from ohio to introduce

the bill, mr. chabot, the co-author. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for five minutes. mr. chabot: i want to thank the ranking member for yielding and thank the gentleman from virginia, mr. connolly, for his leadership on this. and i rise in support of h.r. 2166, global health security act and as was already stated is bipartisan legislation offered by my good friend, mr. connolly. and we worked on a whole range of issues. he's a democrat and i'm a republican but we worked together. we introduced it at the beginning of last year and this was early 2019 to strengthen u.s. and global preparedness for and capacity to respond to pandemics like the coronavirus. this legislation was not borne out of the coronavirus. it was borne out of a bipartisan

vision for strengthening global health systems around the world in case a disease like the coronavirus emerged. and as we know, it did, catching the whole world flat-footed. . we introduced this legislation april of 2019. well before anyone had ever heard the term covid-19. when the foreign affairs committee considered legislation in march of this year, there were 100,000 coronavirus cases worldwide, and that number has now risen, as we know, to over 30 million. that we know of. the global health security act has two main objectives. first, it codifies bipartisan support for the global health security agenda. this multilateral partnership started under the obama administration and was embraced by the trump administration and

aims to strengthen health systems and laboratories in countries across the globe so they meet international health regulation standards. many of our constituents may wonder why we should support health systems abroad when there are so many needs here at home. well, the coronavirus pandemic clearly shows that a weak and opaque health system in another country, in this case china, can directly threaten us here right in america. that's why we must remain vigilant so we can contain future emergent deadly diseases where they originate before they have a chance to become a pandemic and affect us here at home. second, our bill makes sure that we have the personnel in place to prepare and respond to pandemics like the coronavirus. we need someone to coordinate our government's response since that response inevitably

involves several agencies across the government, from the state department, to the c.d.c., etc. several republicans, including then chairman ed royce, called on the obama administration to appoint a single point person with a health background during the ebola outbreak back in 2014. president obama's team got it half right by choosing a single person who was a political appointee. the trump administration appointed dr. debbie birx. this time a universally respected health expert as white house coronavirus response coordinator under the vice president, mike pence. in any event our bill would make this position permanent so that when the next pandemic comes, america and the world are fully prepared to address that crisis. witnessing the death toll and the economic devastation that the coronavirus has brought i think all americans will agree that protecting our nation's

health from future pandemics must be seen as a national security priority. we need to take this opportunity to recommit to leadership on global health security and prepare the world to face and defeat the next pandemic. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. i want to again thank the gentleman from virginia, mr. connolly, for his leadership on this. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yield back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. castro: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized -- reserves. gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you, madam speaker. i'm honored today to yield three minutes to the gentlelady from missouri, an esteemed member of the foreign affairs committee and vice chairwoman of the foreign affairs committee, and also a co-sponsor of this bill, mrs. wagner. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for three minutes. mrs. wagner: i thank the ranking member for yielding to me.

madam speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 2166, the bipartisan global health security act. this very important bill was greatly bolster the united states' ability to prevent and respond to global health threats like the coronavirus pandemic. as we have seen, during this tragedy, infectious diseases can spread across borders and oceans with deadly speed. improving nations' ability to address public health threats before they spin out of control is, in fact, a matter of national security. the united states must lead the way in strengthening international health security mergn measures -- measures. investing in multilateral initiatives that reduce the threat of global health catastrophes is a bipartisan priority. and i am proud to co-lead this landmark bill with

representatives connolly, chabot, fitzpatrick, and larson. the global health security act establishes a special advisor for global health security at the national security council. ensuring that u.s. efforts to respond to public health emergencies are efficient and well coordinated. it also requires the united states to proactively strategize for future crises and strengthens our ability to help our partners fight and contain outbreaks within their own borders. the global health security act will save lives by helping us prepare for or prevent the next pandemic. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. castro: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: gentleman from texas is recognized. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: i'm prepared to close if the gentleman from

texas has no further speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you, madam speaker. the thing i really enjoy about the foreign affairs committee is i know the speaker would agree with me it is bipartisan. i would say that the majority of bills passed out of our committee, i would say no other committee has passed more bipartisan bills than the house committee on foreign affairs. as it should be. i want to thank my good friend, joaquin castro from texas. of course, madam speaker, you're from texas. we seem to have a trifecta here today from stks. i will say -- from texas. i will say chairman engel's been a great partner for me. working together as chairman and ranking member should on a national security committee we should put the interest of the nation above partisan politics.

and that has been our charge and our duty, and i'm, quite frankly, proud to say that is how we have conducted ourselves in this congress. it's very gratifying, madam speaker, to close out this session of congress before this very tumultuous election cycle, very divisive time in our politics and our american history, but for me to be able to close this out in a very bipartisan way. which i think is what most americans want out there. from their leaders in the congress. i want to thank the gentleman from texas, speaker from texas for your bipartisan support. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: gentleman from texas yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. castro: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. for the purpose of closing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. castro: thank you. i'll be submitting letters of exchange between the committee

-- this committee anti-committees of intelligence and armed services as well. as the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. that's undoubtedly true in global health. we have seen firsthand the dangers of a lack of preparedness. today's legislation will prepare a coordinated response for future pects. i want to give a special thank you to mr. connolly for authoring this important legislation. and of course thank mr. mccaul of texas and the others who have worked in a bipartisan way to get this bill to the floor today. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yield back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2166, as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rule are

suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? mr. jefferies: madam speaker, by direction of the democratic caucus, i offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1135. resolved, that the following named members be and are hereby elected to the following standing committees of the house of representatives. committee on natural resources, ms. barragan to rank immediately after mr. garcia of illinois. committee on ways and means, mr. richmond, to rank immediately after mr. horsford. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resolution is agrode to. and the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. castro: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4864, the global child thrive act, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4864, a bill to develop and implement policies to advance early childhood development, to provide assistance for orr fans and other vulnerable children in developing countries, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. castro, and the gentleman from texas, mr. mccaul, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. castro. mr. castro: madam chair, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include in the record extraneous material on h.r. 4864. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. castro: i yield myself such time as i may consume. as i begin i'd like to express a

deep gratitude to chairman engel for his strong and steady leadership on the house foreign affairs committee, and specifically with respect to this bill for working with me to move important legislation through the committee and congress. i'd also like to thank representative brian fitzpatrick for working with me on this legislation that enjoys wide bipartisan support in both the house and the senate. finally, i'd like to recognize usaid as the country's lead agency to provide humanitarian assistance and lead in international development. the tireless efforts of its staff helped millions of vulnerable people every year in advance core united states' interest. the global child thrive act shows the leadership in -- shows that the leadership in congress is concerned about future generations in developing countries. and we are concerned they be empowered to survive and succeed. i would like to speak to the importance of this bill that we are considering here today in the house of representatives.

over 250 million children worldwide are at risk of stunted growth and damage to their brains due to the long lasting impacts of poverty, conflict, and displacement. research indicates that poor health, stress, and lack of learning impairs a child's growth and development with negative lifelong effects. the global child thrive act is designed to reduce the devastating effects of poverty through early childhood development programming. early childhood development, or e.c.d., provides for the care and nurturing that restores a child's prospects for success in the future. e.c.d. intervention's build a brain architecture necessary for growth, reading, singings, play activities with shape and color, and responsive interaction. the benefits of e.c.d. are particularly critical during this coronavirus pandemic. when children face severe disruptions in development.

hundreds of thousands of children have already lost a family member. and quarantines and school closures have led to isolation and increased child protection concerns. with so much at stake, we need to take action now. this bill is not just my bill or democratic bill, but a bipartisan bill that has garnered widespread support because saving children's lives is not a partisan measure but a human imperative. the global child thrive act shows that the united states is there for the world's most vulnerable and precious possession, its children. it also shows that we are serious about combating poverty as one of the greatest scourges that afflicts human big knit. this leadership is critical because we as a nation need to demonstrate to the world that we are still the north star of freedom, democracy, and human rights. we need to show that the world can trust and follow our lead in

welcoming those seeking refuge and helping marginalized populations around the world who just want the chance not only to survive but to thrive. i have spoken about the need to build up what i call a infrastructure diplomacy. the work of usaid and international development and our partnerships with n.g.o.'s that implement these programs is an important component of that infrastructure that enables our nation's leadership on the world stage. foreign affairs issues need the attention of our nation. because the truth is, foreign affairs touches all aspects of our lives, including national security, personal health, and access to essential goods. it determines how we trust and look at the goodness of our neighbors. not only across borders, but across our own streets. this is a good measure. it has bipartisan support. and i hope that my colleagues will support it. at this time i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you, madam

speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time he may consume. mr. mccaul: thank you, madam speaker. i'd like to thank representative castro and representative fitzpatrick for their leading efforts on the global child thrive act. . although children have not faced as many direct health effects covid-19, the effects of the pandemic endanger the welfare of countless vulnerable world.n around the over the summer, the u.n. estimated an additional 10,000 are dying every month ue to hunger caused by covid-19. this pandemic is also reversing we made in gains combating other diseases. to education ess and reducing extreme poverty. his legislation supports efforts to integrate early hildhood development into

existing interventions on maternal education, health, water, sanitation, and hygiene. the role of the special advisor for assistance orphans and vulnerable children in coordinating u.s. ssistance and improving interagency cooperation. this bill in short, madam most r, treats the vulnerab vulnerable in our society, our children from hunger and disease. colleagues to support it. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves his time.e of the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. castro: i reserve, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the reserves. the gentleman fromction it. mr. mccaul: madam speaker, i minutes to the author of the bill from pennsylvania, say, mr. i should fitzpatrick, an esteemed member of the committee on foreign and, again, working with my good friend, congressman this measure t

forward today. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for five minutes. mr. fitzpatrick: thank you, ranking member mccaul, for speak on theime to global child thrive act. as a life-long f.b.i. special agent, one of my always concerns has been the welfare of children. not just children in the united the s, but children across globe. and last year, as the ranking member indicated, i partnered colleague, congressman castro, to introduce the global act. thrive this legislation was written to support wrung children and their young children and their families across the globe. our bill has wide bipartisan and bicameral support. our bill passed unanimously out of the house foreign affairs committee in december. we have over 60 bipartisan co-sponsors, and it's also by over 50 civil society groups working in child

international development. want to particularly thank catholic release services, whose constituent advocates in my championed these issues. madam speaker, the global child would increase aid programs' effectiveness and developmental outcomes for young children. urrently less than 1% of our budget goes toward international aid programs so it's critical do as muched dollars as possible. today, the need for enactment of our bill into law is more as experts n ever agree that the secondary impacts increased , such as food insecurity, malnutrition, and violence will fall most vulnerable children. the global child thrive act will the most vulnerable children to withstand the secondary impacts of the as well as future deadly pandemics. moreover, this act is crucial

the globe -- und ince children around the globe are in poverty. extreme poverty in low and countries is the reason why 250 million children old and younger may not achieve their full developmental potential. unicef reports at least 75 million children underage 5 live in areas conflict.y and conflict increases a child's can of toxic stress and inhibit brain cell connections. finally, madam speaker, i'd like thank congressman castro for his bipartisanship and his hard work on this legislation. 'd also like to thank chairman engel and ranking member mccaul. all fine colleagues of mine for onir cooperation and support our legislation. as we all know, madam speaker, focusing on children is focusing our future. and i urge all of my colleagues, democrat and republican, to vote on h.r. 4864, the global child thrive act. back.d

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. castro: i reserve, madam speaker. the peaker pro tempore: gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. mccaul: thank you, madam speaker. to close.ed the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you. to thank my good friend, brian fitzpatrick, and his work f.b.i. i thought that was very compelling that testimony that lives the ldren's served priority as he with -- a very distinguished pecial agent in the bureau and now serves in this congress. ne of the most -- i should say -- i think georgetown university ranked him as the this ipartisan member of body, of the house. being on that your the list but, sir, service in this house to issues of importance to americans.

most americans don't want us bickering. most americans want us working aisle to get good things done for the people of this country. demonstrated that every day i've witnessed you in this congress. since you served in office. thank congressman castro for his leadership. being a catholic myself, i do want to thank the services.elief and the development community this bill, rk on working so hard to get to this point where we are now on the of the house of representatives in the united states congress getting ready to an important bill that will save so many children's lives. back.th that i yield the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. castro: thank you. it's now up to us to pass this us today and fore to send a strong signal to the senate that passing the global into law is act urgent. have said, want to thank catholic relief services for all of their work of their members in different chapters throughout the country in helping to bill.rd this as the world tylenols through a -- toils through a devastating more than ever we must keep the elimination of poverty front and center if we lead our country and the world to a stronger, healthier, condition.silient we must stand united and be the cting conscience of the country. it's our job to do so. i, therefore, urge my colleagues this house to support measure so we can get back -- we can get it to the president's esk and have it signed into law. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back.

is will the house suspend the rules and pass the h.r. 4864 as amended. aye. in favor say those opposed, no. chair, 2/3ion of the having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. castro: madam speaker, i the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5664, the lift amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. to clerk: h.r. 5664, a bill amend the trafficking victims protection act of 2000 to ensure the ate time for

preparation of the annual trafficking in persons report, provision of mely information to the office to monitor and combat trafficking and the bureau of diplomatic security of the department of state regarding number and location of visa based, in whole or in part, on grounds related to human trafficking, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. castro, and the gentleman from each will mccaul, control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. castro. mr. castro: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks extraneous material on h.r. 5664. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. castro: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. castro: madam speaker, i first like to submit in the congressional record an exchange and the s between me

chair of the committee on 5664.ary on h.r. madam speaker, human better termed, modern day slavery, has grown and complex ing billion-dollar criminal enter price. people ated 25 million are currently victims of trafficking, having been forced into abusive situations labor, sex rced exploitation, and involuntary domestic servitude. house foreign affairs committee has a long history of slavery ng modern day and the lift act continues that legacy for this committee. friend o thank my good and the ranking member of the committee, mr. mccaul, for authoring this bill, and mr. leadership on this issue for over two decades. 2000, president clinton signed into law the victims of trafficking and violence as ention act, now hailed the most comprehensive legislation on human trafficking date.

that landmark piece of legislation came out of the foreign affairs committee and our colleague, chris smith. the state ation gave department the responsibility of drafting the annual trafficking which pushes countries to take action to combat human trafficking. he bill before us ensures the state department has adequate time to prepare the annual stre cking report, streamlines -- it streamlines da on sharing on visa denials human traffickers and engages trafficking survivors in our progress.es we must continue to fight modern day slavery and work to enact egislation that brings us to a brighter future free of this horrific injustice. measure is a step in that direction, and i hope all of my colleagues, republican and me in t, will join supporting it. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. the gentleman reserves. he gentleman from texas is

recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. r. mccaul: thank you, madam speaker. the trafficking of people, hether for sexual exploitation or forced labor, is an affront to human dignity. is, as the gentleman from texas said, a modern day form of that oppresses nearly 25 world,n people around the including right here in the united states and in my home texas.f a few years ago, a mother from aty, texas, in my district, reached out to me with one request. me bring my daughter home, my daughter, courtney. in high was a junior school. she was on the swim team and church regularly where she was groomed, unfortunately,

traffickers. her high oomed at school. many parents think, this can't my child, and not in houston. but just ask courtney's family that question. he traffickers embedded themselves in the high school. they operated through courtney's classmates. like leeches, they latched onto vulnerabilities, and they used them against her. it was then that she was swept into this nightmare and used property. we may suspect things like this out of foreign countries but not backyards. thankfully, after several months enforcement, aw courtney returned home to her family. was there when she came home.

she had battle scars. weight. so much she just about died. quite a reunion with her and daughter her who had been gone for almost two years. dedicates her time to raising awareness and educating thers on the signs of human trafficking. her work earned her a spot on he u.s. advisory council on human trafficking, and i cannot and re proud of her work her inspiration to me and her the council. to and it is because of survivors ike courtney and the countless others that chairman engel and i lift act to e continue our committee's 20-year human ent to combating trafficking. the lift act will help our law officers and

diplomatic officials communicate so we can then root out more human traffickers and bring justice. i was surprised to find out that visa omeone applies for a at an embassy and consulate and they are denied on human trafficking grounds that that is not currently iven to our law enforcement officers, to the f.b.i. . the lift act also gives a voice to survivors of human trafficking, so brave people like courtney will remain a central part of the policy discussion. by re-authorizing the survivor-led u.s. advisory council on human trafficking through 2025, which is what this bill does, we are empowering survivors and sharpening our tools to counter human traffickers. i'm very grateful for the support this bill has received

from the alliance to end slavery in trafficking, and the u.s. onference of catholic bishops. madam speaker, the evil of slavery was abolished in this country many years ago. we are still living up to the principles of our founding fathers that all men are created equal. we are still bringing this to racial andtice social justice. it is still something we strive for. we must end this form of human slavery today. and this bill is a start. we have a lot more work to do. but it's becoming the numbers are very perplexing. in fact the numbers are very disturbing of the numbers of young children both little girls

and boys who are swept up into .his awful system i have worked most of my life as a federal prosecutor on these issues. and now in congress i put the worst of the worst behind bars for these crimes. where they deserve to spend a very long time in our prison system. hey are the lowest of the low. so with this bill today we renew and strengthen our commitment to stand with the exploited and the children against their oppressors. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. castro: i reserve, madam chair. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you, madam speaker. i yield four minutes to the gentleman from florida, mr. yoho.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for four minutes. mr. yoho klan thank you, madam speaker. -- mr. yoho: thank you, madam speaker. aid like to thank chairmen mccaul, engel, and mr. castro for bringing up this strong bipartisan bill. human traffic something an issue still alive and well today, unfortunately. it is modern day slavery. the international labor organization estimates that there are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking worldwide today. the global human trafficking market is estimated at $150 billion per year industry. i hate to call it an industry. the profits from these nefarious and heinous acts only go to fund corrupt governments and organizations to reign more terror, pain, organ harvesting, and suffering on the world's most vulnerable populations. as of 2020, the counter trafficking data collaborative shows globally 108,613 individual cases of human

trafficking. 164 countries of exploitation. and 175 nationalities. the lift act will ensure adequate time for preparation of the state department's annual trafficking in persons report. it will also require timely provisions on information to the state department on the number and location of visa denials based holy or partially on grounds related to human trafficking. one of the greatest challenges in developing targeted counter trafficking responses and measuring their impact is the lack of reliable, high quality data related to the scale of human trafficking and the profile of the victims. the lift act will help to provide this global data on human trafficking through its insurance -- assurance of thorough preparation of the state department's trafficing in persons report. in these times of hyper partisanship, combating human trafficking is a worldwide courge on stoigs -- on

societies that we should, we k. and do tack until a bipartisan fashion here. in order to combat human trafficking, we must all continue to work. i will and encourage all others to support the lift act. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. castro: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. mccaul: thank you, madam speaker. i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. 2002 i formed the internet crimes against children's unit in the attorney general's office in the state of texas to stop this internet trafficking and stop the exploitation of children online. since that day we have put thousands behind bars. this is a worldwide scourge. it happens on an international

level. but what is again most disturbing is it's happening now in our back yards. it's happening in suburbia america. the case like courtney is so compelling because you never thought it would be possible in a town like katie, texas. but it happens. .-- it's happening all over this nation. the numbers from the f.b.i. are revealing and it is an industry. it's a sick industry that's run by businessmen, that's run by lawyers. an industry that exploits our children. i talked to many veterans with ptsd, but i can't imagine the posttraumatic stress of a victim of human trafficking who has

been violated over and over and over again offending the deepest ounce of human dignity where there is no dignity left. where they had to put their mind in such a place, almost like stockholm syndrome where they can survive the horrors they are living in day in and day out. madam speaker, this has to stop. this congress, this bill will help, but this congress and the next congress we really need to ramp up our efforts to take this issue square on to put these monsters out of their business and say they are closed forever. and to put them behind bars for a very, very long time. madam speaker, i would like to thank many in my district who have worked hard on this issue.

houston 20 organization jen, and austin 20 lisa knapp, these women are warriors against the cause -- or for the cause against human trafficking. i also want to thank the harris county human trafficking task force for their great work in this effort. they are truly one of the models for the nation when the officials from homeland security came down from the blue campaign, they told me this is one of the most effective operations we have seen in the united states. and it's a model for the nation. so with that, madam speaker, i urge my colleagues to support this meaningful, necessary legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back the bam of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. castro: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. for the purpose of closing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. castro: combating human trafficking is a global challenge and we are proud of the state department's critical role in that effort. this legislation will ensure that the department has the tools and resources necessary to counter these heinous human rights abuses. i'd like to thank the ranking member, mr. mccaul, for his work on this important issue. this is a strong bill that i'm pleased to support and i urge my colleagues, democrat and republican, to do the same. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 5664, as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules -- for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. mccaul: on that i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 3 of house resolution 965, the yeas and

nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. takano: i move the house spruce suspend the rules and

pass h.r. 3010. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3010, a bill to amend title 38 united states code to establish a mission statement of the department of veterans' affairs. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. row, each will -- mr. roe, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. takano: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and insert remarks extraneous material on h.r. 3010. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. takano: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time he may consume. mr. takano: madam speaker, h.r. 3010 establishes an inclusive v.a. mission statement or motto as follows.

quote, to fulfill president lincoln's promise for those, quote, who shall have born the battle, interquote, and for their families, caregivers, and survivors, end quote. congresswoman rice introduced this bill to establish a motto at v.a. that includes all who v.a. is mandated to serve. since its creation in 1861, only one woman, dr. mary walker, as received the medal of honor. her citation recognized her for devoting quote, herself with much patriotic zeal to the sick and wounded soldiers both in the field and hospitals to the detriment of her own health, end quote. and enduring quote, hardships as a prisoner of war, end quote. she received the medal of honor in 1866 for her service to the u.s. army throughout the

american civil war. the current v.a. mission statement aligned from president lincoln's second inaugural address delivered in 1865 uses only male pronounce and excludes women and lesbian and gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer veterans, as well as the diversity of their families, caregivers, and survivors. for years, this committee has heard from veterans and their supporters that both the gender exclusive motto and the v.a.'s refusal to change it are reflective of a culture that does not prioritize or value them. the current motto was unilaterally selected by the administrator of what was then the veterans administration in 1959. by passing this bill to create a new mission statement, we are demonstrating the will of the american people for v.a.'s motto to be inclusive. in the original context,

president lincoln exbreasted an intent of inclusion -- expressed an intent of inclusion, and obligation to care for all who had endured conflict. madam speaker, h.r. 3010 both honors the original spirit of president lincoln's words, while reflecting the full scope of v.a.'s mission and who they must serve. as dr. mary walker said, quote, let the generations know that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom. end quote. . i again thank miss rice from the her of new york for tireless work on behalf of america's veterans and their amilies, caregivers, and survivors. i thank dr. roe and the minority members who made bringing this to the floor a fully bipartisan effort and hope the on -- take take this

this on swiftly so it will be passed into law before the end 116th congress. madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman from california reserves his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. madam : thank you, speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such he may consume. mr. roe: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i rise in support h.r. 3010, the hong all veterans -- the honoring all veterans act, which is sponsored colleague, kathleen rice of new york. this bill would establish a mission statement in the statute the department of veterans affairs. that mission statement would fulfill te, to president lincoln's promise to are for those who have borne the battle and for their families, caregivers, and survivors, end quote. this is an homage to president inaugural words which state in full, quote, with toward none and charity

for all, with the firmness and to seeht as god gives us the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have battle and for his to achieveis orphan, just and lasting peace among themselves, end quotes. those words, which were elivered in 1865, remain some of the most important in our country's history and they continue to reverberate even now. for one, they inspire the creation of the department of it.rans affairs as we know that's why v.a. has been using 1959.s a motto since however, in the last several years, veterans' services organizations and others have that the use of the male pronoun in president incoln's statement can be inadvertently ostracize the increasing number of women in he military and veteran

communities. women are the fastest growing cohort of service members and veterans. critical roles on the battlefield and in the v.a. health care system where their tripled in the last two decades alone. in has made great strides the last few years with respect to improving care for women, and now result, women veterans express greater trust in v.a. before.r enacting the honoring all veterans act would go a one step a more in making v.a. inclusive and welcoming place of are for them, and future generations of veterans, whoever they may be, while preserving in statute president lincoln's charge to forever honor and care for those who have served. be more would also inclusive of many caregivers, survivors, and family members of vitally who are important sources of ongoing love and support for veterans in the country. i appreciate congresswoman ice's leadership on this bill

and i'm proud to sponsor it and today. it with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: madam speaker, at this time i'd like to yield five who'ss to my good friend, the sponsor of h.r. 3010, representative kathleen rice new york.tate of the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is for five minutes. miss rice: madam speaker, i rise today in support of my bill, the honoring all veterans act. this bill would finally require department of veterans affairs to replace its outdated motto with a more inclusive statement. the words of the original motto would be updated to read, to fulfill president lincoln's to care for those who shall have borne the battle and for their families, caregivers, survivors. for far too long, the v.a.'s motto hasn't ve properly acknowledged the ervice of women and lgbtq

veterans. this is simply wrong and it's long overdue that we change it. lgbtq service members have sacrificed so much for our country. the have always answered call of duty. and they should know that we are ust as grateful for their service and sacrifice as we are for anyone who serves this country. why we must make this change. e need a v.a. motto that properly recognizes and honors the service of all veterans, their gender or sexual orientation. hanging the motto won't solve every issue facing women and lgbtq veterans, of course, but the rightart and it's thing to do. it would say in no uncertain are seent all veterans equally in the eyes of the agency that it exists solely to them. i want to thank chairman takano his support with me getting today.ll to where it is

simply, as you said, chairman akano, we would not be here if it were not for the ranking member, dr. roe, for -- and i so to thank him personally much for supporting this bill and for helping to bring it to the floor today. want to thank my republican co-lead, representative brian mast, the and afghanistan veterans of america, and all of the veterans who i have heard from in support of this bill. i urge my colleagues to vote for the honoring all veterans act today. is time every veteran who served our country receives the they t and recognition deserve. thank you, madam speaker. and i yield back. he speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yeemds back. -- yields back. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: madam speaker, i reserve. i am also prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: madam speaker, i have no further speakers to speak. i am ready to close. the speaker pro tempore: the tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: madam speaker, i appreciate the opportunity to be here and appreciate rice's leadership

on this and the chairman. it seems to me it's past time to this. it's the right thing to do, and i encourage my colleagues to support it. that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: madam speaker, again, i thank the bill's h.r. 3010, kathleen representative kathleen rice of new york. it's long past due for us to contributions of all veterans, regardless of sexual - gender, orientation and gender identity. in ge my colleagues to vote favor of h.r. 3010, and i yield back the balance of my time. the peaker pro tempore: gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the 3010..r. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. chair, 2/3ion of the

having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. takano: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4908, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. 4908, a bill to amend title 38, united states code, to prohibit the collection of a health care co-payment by the secretary of veterans is a s from a veteran who member of an indian tribe. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the california, mr. takano, and the gentleman from mr. roe, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the california.om

mr. takano: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and insert remarks xtraneous material on h.r. 4908, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. takano: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. takano: madam speaker, thank you. i rise in support of h.r. 4908, american , the native pact act. the federal government has a to l and moral obligation uphold its treaty obligations to ribal nations, which include the provision of health care. our responsibility to ensure is compounded when american natives serveaska this country in uniform. provided by the indian health service and tribal health programs, the health care of the united states do not start and stop with one agency. decades, v.a. has not

recognized the unique status of has charged ns and them co-pays for care provided v.a. far too many native veterans, rural larly those in areas -- for far too many native and native veterans, particularly those in rural areas, the co-pay burden is a care.r to these veterans, who may be unable to access specialty care their tribal health systems, are then unable to cost. v.a. due to eliminating the co-pay burden is the p towards upholding treaties between the united states and tribal nations while bringing immediate relief o veterans unable to access care during these distressing times. thank congressman gallego for his steadfast leadership on this issue. urge all of my colleagues to

support h.r. 4908, as amended. madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such consume.e may mr. roe: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. native american veteran parity in access to care or pact act. the care that department of veterans affairs provides to related for conditions to military service are always provided at no cost to the veteran. cared for by v.a. for conditions that are unrelated to their military may be charged a co-payment to offset cost of care and encourage appropriate of the v.a. health care system. according to the government ccountability office and the national council of american ndians, approximately 1/3 of americ american indians and alaska co-payments charged

in fiscal year 2017. those co-payments averaged just veteran.0 per however, almost a century ago, act, ss passed the snyder which guaranteed health care to charge.mericans free of in recognition of that, the native american pact act would from charging co-payment to native american whether the rdless care they receive from the v.a. is from service-connected condition or not. is no ethnic group that volunteers to defend the united higher n uniform at a rate than native americans whose history of service to this ountry dates back to the revolutionary war. this bill would increase access to care for those brave veterans parity between the care provided to them through v.a., the centers for medicare services, and the indian health service. it would also uphold united government's long-standing trust in treat -- and treaty responsibilities to american community. the native american pact act is

sponsored by my colleague and veteran, congressman ruben gallego from arizona, and am glad to stand with him in support of its passage today. with that, madam speaker, i time.e the balance of my the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: madam speaker, i have no further speakers and i am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the prepared to close. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, madam speaker. i have no further speakers and too, am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: i encourage all of my bill,gues to support this and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. yields back. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: madam speaker, i, ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing h.r. 4908, as amended. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. he question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4908, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

chair, 2/3ion of the having responded in the affirmative, the rules are is passed, he bill and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? speaker, i madam move that the house suspend the 6589.and pass h.r. the speaker pro tempore: the -- does l report the the gentleman call for the bill amended? mr. takano: madam speaker, i suspend the house 6589 --d pass h.r.

madam speaker, my motion -- i tand by the motion that i made 6589.e pass h.r. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r.6589, a bill to the secretary of veterans affairs to develop and submit to congress a plan to address the the ial weakness of department of veterans affairs, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the entleman from california, mr. takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. . mr. takano: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on h.r. 6589. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. takano: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. takano: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in support of h.r. 6589,

the c.f.o. authority and collaboration act of 2020. which addresses the sometimes arcane but also very important need for strong financial management and accountability at the department of veterans affairs. each year v.a. spends billions of dollars in support of our nation's veterans. taxpayers deserve to know that each dollar is spent wisely and that each dollar is properly accounted for in order to avoid waste, fraud and abuse. madam speaker, the v.a. inspector general has determined what is called a, quote, material weakness, end quote, in how the office of the chief financial officer is structured. this was a topic examined during hearings and through oversight by our subcommittee on oversight investigations. ms. lee's legislation requires a small but important fix to ensure strong financial accountability.

i want to thank mrs. lee for sponsoring this bipartisan legislation and urge my colleagues to support h.r. 6589. madam speaker, i wish to at this point withdraw the motion. the speaker pro tempore: the motion is withdrawn. without objection. mr. takano: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. takano: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 659, as amended -- 6589, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. 589. lerk: h.r. 6

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. at that cabo, and the gentleman from -- mr. takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, each will control 20 minutes. the chair hoyses -- the chair recognizes the gentleman from california for as much time as he may consume. mr. takano: madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that the comments that i made on my previous motion that i withdrew be inserted into the record in conjunction with my motion to pass h.r. 6589, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. takano: and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. roe: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 6589, the v.a. chief financial officer authority and collaboration act. each year the department of veterans affairs manages to pass its financial statement audit, despite a number of persistent material weaknesses in what

appears to be a stalemate. v.a. never quite loses its unqualified audit opinion, but never materially improves either. we should expect more, especially with v.a.'s budget approaching $250 billion, and its total liabilities reaching nearly $3.3 trillion. i want to thank congresswoman susie lee of nevada and general jack bergman of michigan for sponsoring this bill to address the root cause of the problem. the v.a. chief financial officer's lack of operational authority over dozens of lower level chief financial officers throughout v.a.. this bill would direct v.a. to develop a detailed action plan to resolve material weaknesses and require v.a.'s chief financial officer to attest to the department's financial projections and internal controls in v.a.'s annual budget submission. it would also strengthen v.a.'s chief financial officer's operational authority by involving them or their designee in the hiring and performance

evaluations of subordinate chief financial officers. all of these reforms are consistent with the chief financial officer act of 1990. i support this legislation because it is a carefully crafted solution to an old problem with escalating consequences. that, mr. speaker, -- with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, may i -- i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you mr. speaker,. i have no -- thank you, mr. speaker. i have no further speakers and i'm prepared to close. i encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill and with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers and i'm prepared to close. i want to thank mrs. lee and dr.

oe for helping me bring this legislation to the floor. i ask all my colleagues to join me in passing this very important piece of legislation, h.r. 6589, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 6589, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. takano: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3228, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3228, a bill to

amend title 38, united states code, to authorize health professional trainees to provide treatment via telemedicine and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on h.r. 3228, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. takano: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 3228, as amended. the v.a. mission telehealth clarification act. the john s. mccain iii, daniel k. acacka and samuel r. johnson v.a. maintaining internal systems and strengthening integrated outside networks act of 2018, or the v.a. mission

act, as it is more commonly known, expanded v.a.'s ability to provide telehealth to veterans across state lines. the legislation before us builds on those enhancements by allowing health care professionals in training to provide telehealth care to veterans with clinical supervision. as we have seen over the course of this pandemic, telehealth care is becoming more and more a staple of americans' health care experience. and as this virus will be with us for some time to come, the value and reliance on telehealth will continue. it is critical that during this time, v.a. has the authorities necessary to keep veterans healthy and safe in their homes. this is particularly important for our rural and aging veterans, whose access to in-person care was already a challenge. we need to do everything possible to ensure veterans'

access to safe, distance care -- distant care, whenever it is appropriate. i want to thank congressman carter for his dogged work to see veterans have what they need during this time. i encourage all of my colleagues to support h.r. 3228, as amended. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 3228, the department of veterans affairs mission telehealth clarification act. the v.a. health care system is our country's largest integrated health care system, with the responsibility for delivering care to approximately seven million veteran patients. the v.a. health care system is also the country's largest provider of health care education, with a responsibility for supporting and the training of approximately 45,000 medical

and dental residents and thousands of more health care professionals -- professional trainees every year. i happen to be one of them many years ago. this act would authorize v.a. residents and trainees to provide care to veteran patients virtually, using telehealth, regardless of that residence or trainee's state licensure. so long as they are working under the clinical supervision of a v.a. health care professional. while face to face visits between patients and providers are irreplaceable in many respects, telehealth is an increasingly important tool in the delivery of modern health care. that was true even before the covid-19 pandemic created a skyrocketing demand for telehealth services. the mission act, passed last congress, we authorized v.a. providers to provide telehealth across state lines in an effort to increase access to telehealth to veteran patients, particularly those in rural or remote areas or for those who

travel to a medical facility that's otherwise difficult. however, the law inadvertently exempted v.a. residents, trainees and certain others from that authority. this bill would fix that oversight. in doing so, it would further expand veteran access to telehealth, which has been critical to ensuring continuity of care throughout the last several months it. would also ensure -- months. it would enalso sheer that the medical -- it would also ensure that the medical training and needed experience in the delivery of care via telephone, video and other virtual modalities. this bill is sponsored by my good friend, congressman buddy carter of georgia. i'm grateful to him for recognizing early on the benefits of a well-rounded medical education will have an on -- on access to veterans and all americans and working to so hard to give aspiring providers and others within the v.a. the ability to practice telehealth across state lines within

appropriate parameters. i urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is now recognized. mr. takano: thank you, mr. speaker. i have no further speakers and i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i'd like to yield four minutes to my good friend, dr. buddy carter of georgia. i've had the privilege of visiting his beautiful district and i really appreciate his work on this extremely important issue. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. carter: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of the v.a. mission telehealth clarification act, which i am proud to have introduced. h.r. 3228, the v.a. mission telehealth clarification act, is a simple bill that builds on the v.a. mission's act's historic expansion of the veterans health system. one of the most significant parts of the v.a. mission act was the authorization for the v.a. to use telehealth and

provide care across state lines. the bill began as a result of a visit i had to a v.a. facility before the current pandemic, as they laid out some of the issues they were trying to overcome. but now, with the covid-19 pandemic, we are seeing how extremely beneficial these technologies can be for our veterans. in fact, the v.a. medical center in charleston, south carolina, which serves part of my district along georgia's coast had an over 200% increase in telehealth medical services during the pandemic when we spoke in may. even more increditably, the v.a. announced it had a 1,000% increase in telehealth video appointments using its v.a. video connect program during the first months of the pandemic. this is an extremely important ability for the v.a. to have. however, the law did not authorize trainees within the v.a. to use telehealth technologies. only practitioners with a full

license. as telehealth medicine grows in prevalence, we need for interns, residents and fellows to gain experience using these services. especially considering that many of these trainees later go on to work as doctors at the v.a., bringing with them a wealth of experience. rather than depending on doctors to learn while on the job, which could delay the rollout of care, this bill would allow trainees to gain experience on telehealth systems while properly supervised by credentialed v.a. staff. i'm pleased to say that the bill was further improved through the committee process after input from my colleagues and the v.a. my bill will not only allow trainees to participate in telehealth, but it will also expand the ability to practice telemedicine to all appropriately qualified health care professionals at the v.a. fixing the issue once and for all. while congress intended for trainees and others to be included from the beginning, the v.a.'s reading of the law did

not include them. although they have expressed their desire to include them in telehealth services. the v.a. mission telehealth clarification act will give v.a. the certainty to provide essential telehealth programs to our veterans, imprombinging the quality and timelyness -- improving the quality and timeliness of their care. again, this is a commonsense bill with bipartisan support and has received support from the american legion, veterans of foreign wears, amvets and paralyzed veterans of america, among others. thank you, mr. speaker. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. . mr. takano: thank you, mr. speaker. i have no further speakers and i am prepared to close. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. he gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: i have no further speakers. i am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. thank the want to gentleman, buddy carter, my good

friend who serves on the doctors me, who brought this important legislation up. pandemic r, this actually has done one thing do telehealth.dvance to give you one scope of this, the v.a. went from tens of thousands of mental health we know people have been isolated. ertainly many of our elderly have been not able to visit people. they have gone from tens of thousands of mental health of ts a month to hundreds thousands of visits. we're able to stay in touch with patients in need. in my own medical practice in tennessee, it's been extremely helpful for patients access their physicians through telehealth. i think we're going to continue this, and i think the next going to have to address how medicare and medicaid funds these telehealth the v.a.tside it's that important. in ou live in a rural area,

ural appalachia like i do, the only way we can give specialty care is via telehealth because are so hard tots find and so few of them. cases like n areology, pediatrics, these very difficult people to see. i appreciate this. dr. carter, i appreciate you up.ging this i thank the chair for putting this on the agenda. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from california is recognized. i thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the ranking comments about the v.a. really being a pioneer this moment. he expansion of telemental health, especially, has seen an increase. implications for medicare and medicaid. i'm hearing from -- i'm hearing civilian medical sector

follow in -- to follow v.a.'s example. o i'm very proud of the work the v.a. has done to respond to this pandemic moment by making our veterans, no matter where they live, have aks access to medical care hrough telehealth and telement telemental health especially. i want to thank the sponsor of his legislation, and i want to urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing this legislation, h.r. 3228, as amended. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the yields.n georgia.eman from the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the amended. 3328, as those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the entleman from california seek recognition? mr. takano: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and 6092..r. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of bill. the clerk: h.r. 6092, a bill to the secretary of veterans affairs to establish a national clinical pathway for prostate to life-saving extending precision clinical for s and research, and other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the hair recognizes the gentleman from -- the gentleman from takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. oe, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and to nd their remarks and insert extraneous material on h.r. 6092. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. you, mr. o: thank speaker. i yield myself such time as i

may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i rise support of h.r. 6092, the eterans prostate cancer treatment and research act. the am in one cancer diagnosed by the -- the number one cancer by the v.a. is prostate cancer. nearly half a million veterans undergoing y treatment with disproportionate iagnosis of this disease impacting black veterans and those exposed to agent orange. would create a national clinical pathway and standardized system of care for of prostate cancer at all stages. this will ensure more widespread early detection efforts, ncrease access to clinical trials and create a registry and program. mr. speaker, our veterans battle prostate cancer at twice the civilian eir counterparts. systems' wide approach that builds on the incredible

work at the department's is essential.ts so i want to thank dr. dunn for and hisdfast leadership passion on this matter. my so encourage all of colleagues to support h.r. 6092. reserve the i balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. he gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the peaker pro tempore: gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. the veterans prostate cancer treatment and research act. this bill is sponsored by my friend -- the veteran's prostate cancer treatment and research act. sponsored by my good friend, neal dunn. me,ess -- he's an army doctor.and he specialized in treating advanced prostate cancer. it to say, improving

care for prostate cancer is a personal one for him. also a personal one for me. few years ago i was -- when i was chairman of the veterans' affairs committee, i was diagnosed with prostate cancer. detection and effective treatment helped save my life, nd i know it will do the same for many of my fellow veterans. veterans are diagnosed with prostate cancer, as the chairman at twice the rate of the general population, making rostate cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer in male veterans. an estimated one in five male expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime compared to in nine american men generally. the veteran's prostate cancer and research act would require the v.a. to establish a pathway and toal update that clinical pathway latestear to reflect the and greatest practices for and the medical understanding of disease.ly it would also require v.a. to establish a comprehensive

a state cancer program and national prostate cancer registry. together, these provisions would a national leader with respect to prostate cancer. give mportant, it would veterans with prostate cancer the very best chance of making a going on to and lead a long, healthy life after their diagnosis. fitting that house advance this important bill today, in final week of prostate cancer month. i urge all my colleagues to join it.n supporting with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i also to acknowledge the leadership of the gentleman from cunningham, a, mr. who worked with the subcommittee ranking member, dr. neal dunn. to yield me i'd like five minutes to my good friend,

south tleman from carolina, mr. cunningham. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. thank you, mr. chair. mr. speaker, i rise in support f this bipartisan legislation, introduced by my colleague, representative dunn, and myself, hich would ensure that lifesaving research and clinical trials are made available to reduce the rate of prostate our nation's veterans. prostate cancer is the number the ancer diagnosed in veterans health administration, and numerous reports have stablished a link between cancer and military service, including exposure to certain agent orange. early detection of this disease is critical, and veterans system that lth provides both early detection and successful treatment. bill will do just that. it is our job to ensure that and women ave men return home from their service to v.a. is there rehabilitate them and

reintegrate them back into life.an and they deserve our unconditional support. which is why i urge my me in ues to join honoring our obligation to our vote in support of this bipartisan legislation. i want to thank, again, the chair and ranking member roe for opportunity. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. you, mr. speaker. at this time i'd like to yield friend,nutes to my good dr. greg money fee. murphy.r. greg because of travel restrictions, here.nn couldn't be serve with him on the doctors caucus. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. speaker. 6902, in support of h.r. the veteran's prostate cancer treatment and research act. is the most er cancer diagnosed.

took care of prostate cancer patients. and i am home to roughly 95,000 third most in the country. so this bill is especially important to me. this legislation requires the department of veterans affairs stablish a national clinical pathway and a national registry related to the diagnosis, and treatment of prostate cancer. this information will be our v.a. --help put o help our v.a. pos trait cancer treatments. treatments.cancer early detection is the key. early diagnosis leads to a much greater chance for cure. very important is this bill's requirements to the v.a. real-time, actional, national cancer registry online. more we can keep v.a. up to date with the medical advances more 21st century, the veterans' lives we will save.

i want to thank my colleague and yearologist -- urologist dr. neal dunn. i am proud to be a co-sponsor to its passage. i urge my colleagues to vote for and i yield ion, back. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: i thank you, mr. speaker. i reserve at this time. the speaker pro tempore: the reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. i am prepared to close. reserve. mr. roe: mr. speaker, i strongly to urage my colleagues support this very important bill. i'm surprised over the years v.a. -- that the v.a. hasn't had an active registry. dunn and thenk dr. other sponsors of this bill. think it will help save lives in the v.a. and with that i urge my colleagues to support this bill. back.hat i yield

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i would like to withdraw my motion to uspend the rules and pass h.r. 6092. the speaker pro tempore: the motion is withdrawn. the hat purpose does gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. takano: mr. speaker, i now would like to move that the suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6092, as amended. the peaker pro tempore: clerk will report the title of the bill, as amended. -- speaker pro tempore: clerk: h.r. 6092, a bill to direct the secretary of veterans affairs to establish a national prostate athway for cancer, accessing to lifesaving extending precision clinical research, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. takano, and the gentleman from will each mr. roe,

control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. r. takano: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on h.r. 6092. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. takano: and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. mr. roe: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. the gentleman from california is recognized. the gentleman from tennessee yields back. he question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6092, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. chair, 2/3ion of the having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. takano: mr. speaker, i move he house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 7795. the peaker pro tempore: clerk will report the title.

the clerk: h.r. 7795, a bill to 38, united states code, to improve the ability of eterans to access and submit disability benefit questionnaire forms of the department of veterans affairs. the speaker pro tempore: rule, the the gentleman from california, mr. takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, each will minutes.0 the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. takano: thank you. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on the bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. takano: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. takano: thank you, mr. speaker. the veterans benefits fairness and transparency act of 2020 is legislation that was brought to the house veterans' affairs committee as a result of a strong paetschship between staff and -- partnership between staff and the advocates out in the field. even though the covid-19

pandemic, assisting our veterans in the disability benefits process. when a v.a. doctor evaluates a veteran's disability, they use a form known as a disability benefit questionnaire, or d.b.q. these d.b.q.'s are what v.a. employees use to decide benefit claims and can be the deciding factor between a grant or the denial. -- or denial. during the height of the pandemic, v.a. made the decision to pull these d.b.q.'s off its public website, making them inaccessible to veterans and their representatives. the advocates told us that -- told us this change was harmful for veterans because they could no longer get relevant medical information from their own treatment providers to support their claims. even though v.a. oftentimes provides medical exams to veterans during the claims process, it is not always the

same as getting that information from your own doctor. mr. speaker, h.r. 7795 fixes this issue. by requiring v.a. to publish d.b.q.'s on its website and accept d.b.q.'s completed by a non-v.a. medical provider. i want to take this moment to thank representatives barr and luria for introducing this legislation, and i also thank our v.s.o. partners for bringing this issue to our attention. mr. speaker, thank you and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is now recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 7795, the veterans benefit fairness and transparency act of 2020, which was introduced by my good friend, congressman andy

barr, from kentucky. this bill would streamline the process for veterans to submit medical evidence from their private provider to support their department of veterans affairs compensation claim. you may know, v.a. has recently resumed certain in-person disability claims after suspending them at the start of the covid-19 national emergency. during those uncertain times, some veterans may have requested that their private physician conduct a disability exam in order to avoid a claims processing delay. unfortunately in april of 2020, v.a. stopped publishing the disability benefits questionnaires or d.b.q.'s on its website. those forms are used to ensure that v.a. receives all the medical information the department needs to adjudicate the veteran's disability claim. however, if a veteran's physician does not have access to the appropriate d.b.q., the provider may not include all the medical information to support the veteran's claim.

h.r. 7795 would address this issue by requiring the v.a. to reinstate the public-face -- d.b.q.'s utting the on its website. i believe a physician or other health care provider who has had the opportunity to develop a relationship with the veteran patient over several years is the most qualified to assess the veteran's disability. if that provider's willing to perform a disability exam they should have the same access to the d.b.q. that a v.a. examiner would have. i've heard v.a.'s concern about this bill and understand the department would like to improve the process for veterans to develop and obtain supportive evidence from their private providers. however, i'm not persuaded that the veterans are well served by eliminating the public access to d.b.q.'s right now. instead, i believe veterans should be able to obtain these forms until v.a. can implement a better process. veterans should not be penalized for seeking out a medical

opinion from their private medical provider. especially when there is a backlog of over 350,000 pending disability exms -- examines cause -- exams caused by the pandemic that the v.a. must address. mr. speaker, let me explain how it is. let's say i am seeing a patient for disability in my office and i've put down exactly what i think is appropriate, but it's not all the information the v.a. needs. i don't know what they need. they need to send me the form so i'll know what to fill out so they have adequate information. so in your office, your staff back home are not getting these complaints about, well, they turned my claim down because it didn't have adequate information. this is a simple solution to a simple problem. i encourage all members to support h.r. 7795 and with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: thank you, mr.

speaker. at this time i'd like to yield five minutes to my good friend and chairwoman of the disability assistance and memorial affairs subcommittee, and also a co-sponsor of h.r. 7795, congresswoman luria from virginia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from virginia is recognized. for five minutes. mrs. luria: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm proud to rise today in support and as a co-lead of the veterans benefits fairness and transparency act. i want to start by thanking my colleague, mr. barr, from kentucky, for taking the lead on this. as you know, we've heard from countless veterans from countless veterans advocates that this is a problem, that these forms are not available to our veterans and their providers to be able to provide the best information in the most timely manner in order to process these claims. the simple fact is that we must act to make it easier, not harder, for our veterans to

receive the benefits that they deserve. as mentioned, this bill will ensure that benefit quish -- benefit questionnaires will be public-facing again on a website. mr. barr and learned from many veterans advocates that these forms were removed and that veterans that needed to provide this vital information in order to process their claims couldn't simply have the forms that they neededed for to do that -- they needed noord to do that. this bill also include -- in order to do that. this bill also includes older versions of the forms. how many times have we heard that a veteran has submitted their claim, only to have it sent back again, requesting a different version of a form, thus delaying the process for our veterans who desperately need these claims to be adjudicated and need the care from the v.a. this will also allow the v.a. to make prompt decisions on the disability claims and reduce their unfinished exam backlog which is currently nearing 60%.

these questionnaires played a huge role in 2011 in reducing the massive claims backlog that we experienced at that time, and during our current public health crisis, while access to care at v.a. facilities is limited, what could make more sense than allowing veterans in company with their civilian providers to also be able to provide the information necessary -- information necessary to process their claims. i'm honored to represent more than 92,000 veterans in our district. and this is among my top priorities to ensure that we make this process easier, more transparent and more timely for our veterans. so i want to close again by thank building barr for introducing this legislation and for allowing me to co-sponsor it. and i urge all of my colleagues to support this bill in order to help our nation's many deserving veterans.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i'd like to yield three minutes to my good friend and fellow member of the veterans a-- veterans' affairs committee, congressman andy barr of kentucky. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky is now recognized. mr. barr: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm grateful to have my bill, h.r. 7795, the veterans benefits fairness and transparency act of 2020 before the house today. i'd like to thank my good friend for his support of the legislation and would especially like to thank my colleague across the aisle and chair of the disability and memorial affairs subcommittee, representative elaine luria, for co-leading this bipartisan legislation with me. i appreciate representative luria's leadership on this issue. this bill is vitally important because it will restore access for veterans and their representatives to the disability benefits questionnaires forms previously available on the v.a.'s public

website. our veterans use these forms to submit evidence to the v.a. for their disability claims until the v.a. removed them in april of this year in the middle of the pandemic. making it harder for veterans to submit their evidence and get the benefits owed to them. the idea for this legislation was brought to me by a member of kentucky's sixth congressional district veterans coalition, chief warrant officer danny hart. i know mr. hart, he's a good, patriotic man. he continues to serve our country by helping other veterans file their disability claims with the v.a. however, after the v.a. removed these forms from being publicly available, they effectively shut out mr. hart and others from assisting our veterans. there were only 11 v.a. contract examiners in the sixth district of kentucky in january of this year. to their credit, the v.a. has increased the number of those contract examiners, probably because of this legislation. but until we have the assurances that a sufficient number of v.a.

contract examiners are able to assist all of the veterans with their disability claims, we need public-facing d.b.q.'s. my legislation gives the v.a. additional man power to process a veteran's d.b.q. by maintaining the ability of the veteran's own provider to fill out the form. this is something vital to veterans in rural communities who may be far from a v.a. medical center or a contract examiner. furthermore, our proposal prevents veterans from having their disability claim delayed or denied because the v.a. changed their d.b.q. form during the application process without the veteran knowing. during this pandemic, we must ensure this process is not paused or compromised solely due to a change in a bureaucracy form. we must -- bureaucratic form. we must protect veterans from unnecessary burdens, while securing benefits owed to them. no veteran should be denied the disability benefits to which he or she is justly entitled solely because a d.b.q. is not publicly

available or because the v.a. changed the form in the middle of the process. this is commonsense legislationer toed -- supported by multiple -- legislation supported by multiple veteran organizations, including the paralyzed veterans of america, minority veterans of america, iraq and afghanistan veterans of america and more. i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation and restore this vital resource for our nation's heroes. thank you, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i have no further speakers. i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is now recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers, i'm prepared to close and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. this is a commonsense solution to a problem that shouldn't have occurred in the first place. and i think that it's -- i appreciate both congresswoman luria and congressman barr for their leadership on this. i encourage my colleagues to

support this. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is now recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, the passage of this important legislation is necessary to continue to make it easier for veterans to submit medical evidence in support of their disability claims. i urge all of my colleagues to support the legislation, h.r. 7795, brought forward by congressman barr of tennessee -- of kentucky. kentucky. and the co-sponsor, chairwoman f our subcommittee, luria of virginia. mr. speaker, i urge support of this bill, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 775. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection,

laidotion to reconsider is on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from -- pursuant to 20, 8 of rule 20rks -- the unfinished business is the vote on on the motion of the ntleman from california to pass the bill. the clerk will report the title. the clerk: h.r. 6210. a bill ensuring that good made with forced labor in the uighur

autonomous region of the people's republic of china do notent rt united states market and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? i inform the house that mr. huffman will vote yes.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina recognition? mr. speaker. as the member designated by ms. wilson of florida, pursuant to 965, i inform n the house that ms. wilson will

ote yes on h.r. 6210, the uyghur forced labor prevention act. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? underwood: as the member rush, pursuantmr. to house resolution 965, i inform the house that mr. rush will vote yes on h.r. 6210.

the speaker pro tempore: for does the gentleman from north carolina rise? mr. butterfield: as the member esignated by mr. kildee of michigan, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that mr. kildee will vote yes. will vote yes on h.r. 6210. the speaker pro tempore: thank you. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. courtney: mr. connecticut. as the member designated by mrs. hayes, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the mrs. hayes will vote

yes on h.r. 6210. the peaker pro tempore: gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: as the member ms. chu of y california, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the ms. chu will vote yes on h.r. 6210.

the speaker pro tempore: the is lewoman from california recognized. ms. matsui: thank you, mr. speaker. as the member designated by mr. pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that mr. desauliner will vote yes on h.r. 6210. the speaker pro tempore: thank you.

>> as the member designated by mr. kim, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the ayee that mr. kim will vote on h.r. 6210. the speaker pro tempore: thank ou. mr. cooper: as the member designated by mr. lipinski, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house mr. lipinski will vote .es on h.r. 6210

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona rise? mr. gallego: as the member designated by representative kirkpatrick, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house that representative kirkpatrick will 6210.ye on h.r.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does gentlelady from massachusetts rise? >> as the member designated by ms. pingree, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house that ms. pingree will vote yes on h.r. 6210. as the member designated by ms. frankel, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house that ms. frankel will vote yes on h.r. 6210. as the member designated by ms. meng, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house that ms. meng will vote yes on h.r. 6210.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> megged ms. roybal-allard, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house ms. roybal-allard votes aye on h.r. 6210.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? mr. pallone: madam sperl as the

member designated by ms. bonnie watson coleman, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house ms. watson coleman will vote yes on h.r. 6210. mr. e member designated by elliott engel, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house h.r. gel will vote yes on 6210. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does gentlelady

florida rise? ms. wasserman schultz: as the member designated by by mismucarsel-powell of florida, ms. ant to h.res. 965, mucarsel-powell will vote yea. and as the member designated by will ings -- hastings vote yeah. as the member designated by mr. new jersey, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house mr. payne will vote yea on h.r. 6210. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman

from massachusetts rise? mr. mcgovern: as the member designated by mr. welch of vermont, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house mr. welch will vote yes on h.r. 6210.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland rise? mr. raskin: as the member designated by by ms. jayapal of washington state, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house ms. jayapal will vote yes. as the member designated by mr. pocan of wisconsin, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house that mr. pocan will vote yes on h.r. 6210.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? mr. jeffries: as the member designated by chairwoman lofgren, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house ms. lofgren will vote yea on h.r. 6210. as the member designated by mr. serrano, pursuant to h.res. 965, i inform the house mr. serrano will vote yea on h.r. 6210.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts rise? mr. lynch: as the member designated by mr. langevin of rhode island, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that mr. langevin will vote yes on h.r. 6210, the uighur forced labor prevention act, as amended. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from pennsylvania rise? >> as the member designated by ms. speier, pursuant to house

resolution 965, i inform the house that ms. speier will vote aye on h.r. 6210.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from ohio rise? >> madam speaker, as the member designated by mr. richmond of louisiana, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that mr. richmond will vote yea on h.r. 6210. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> madam speaker, as the member

designated by congress member napolitano, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that congress member napolitano will vote yes on h.r. 6210.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> madam speaker, as the member signated by representative lowey, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that representative lowey will indeed vote aye on h.r. 5210.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from virginia rise? >> thank you, madam speaker. as the member designated by ms. porter, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that ms. porter will vote yes on h.r. 6210.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> madam speaker, as the member esignated by mr. lawson of

florida, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that mr. lawson votes yeah on the motion to -- votes yea on the motion to suspend. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? >> as the member designated by mr. lowenthal, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that mr. lowenthal will vote yes on h.r. 6210. as the member designated by mr. lieu, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that mr. lieu will vote es on h.r. 6210. as the member designated by mr. rooney, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that mr. rooney will vote yes on h.r. 6210. as the member designated by ms. moore, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that ms. moore will vote

yes on h.r. 6210. as the member designated by mr. kind, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that mr. kind will vote yes on h.r. 6210. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> as the member designated by mr. grijalva of arizona, pursuant to house resolution 965, i inform the house that mr. grijalva will vote yes on h.r. 6210.

the speaker pro tempore: the yeas are 406, the nays are 3. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the speaker: the house will be in order. the house will be in order. the chair asks all members in the chamber as well as members and staff throughout the capitol to rise for a moment of silence in remembrance of those more than 200,000 americans who have passed away from the covid-19 virus.

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house